power yoga poses

Thursday, October 13, 2011

How to Practice yoga Some Important Guidelines You must read before to start practicing

When you cant practice yoga

Please read the contraindications for each posture before you do.Pregnancy Menstruation, high blood pressure and injuries to the shoulders, knees, and neck are all conditions where certain postures must be avoided and special care must be taken in all postures. If you have any medical condition, you should check with your health care professional before starting a yoga practice.

Modify the postures for your body

The instructions and pictures of the yoga postures are the “goal,” meaning the direction you are going towards, not where you need to be. Experiment and explore different positions and alignment to make the posture work for your body.

Moderate the level of intensity

You can make your yoga practice as challenging and vigorous as you want. We recommend you start slowly and make sure you understand the alignment of postures. There are three ways to increase the intensity of your practice: one, hold postures for longer and longer periods of time; two, slowly build your practice up to more advanced and challenging postures; three, move quickly between postures. Read our Challenge Yourself article.

How to choose postures

Choose to practice postures that look like you can do them. Postures done on the floor are going to be easier than standing postures, as they do not require as much strength or balance. Also, postures that have longer recommended hold times (in breaths) are going to be easier to do.

Use ouryoga posture sequences as a starting point and foundation for your practice sequence.

Duration of practice

Your daily practice should be between 15 to 90 minutes long and done 1-6 times per week, depending on your schedule, goals and ability.Practicing more frequently with shorter practice times will yield greater results that practicing less frequently with longer practice times.

What to wear

Loose, comfortable clothing or tights / unitards work best. Its important to wear something that will not restrict your movement.

Drinking and eating

It is not advisable to eat or drink right before a yoga practice (especially if you are practicing inversions). Eat no less than 1-3 hours before and drink only small amounts of water before practice, and do not drink during your practice if possible.

The initial four stage are the basic stages which help the person to attain "Sthiram" (stability of mind) which is the prior necessity for practicing the further stages of meditation.

As we have seen, to concentrate is Dharana and to prolong that concentration state of mind is Dhyan (Meditation). If Dharana is the drop, Dhyana is the river. The spontaneous concentration of the mind on the object is Meditation. It means that you are no longer distracted by external stimuli and when your mind is completely controlled and remain effortlessly at one point that is meditation. Meditation is the study of deep concentration, calmness and tranquility of the mind. It is the
study of attaining complete control over ones mind. Meditation takes the consciousness beyond conscious, sub conscious & unconscious states to super consciousness.
Once you gained fairly good control on Dharana (Concentration) you can try for the 'Dhyan'. In dharana we used a picture of Om to fix our attention on.In this method Sadhak has to concentrate with the help of his sensors like ' Eyes, Nose, Ears, Mouth and Touch by,
Gazing the target.
Reciting the mantra.
Listening the mantra.
Here sensors like ' Eyes, Nose, Ears, Mouth are used. This actions not allows him to think about anything except the target.
After some period, stop the japa, close the eyes and try to concentrate the mind on the memories of Om sensed through the gaze, the tongue and the ears. This experience transcends the sensory organs and the engagement of mind this is Dhyan.